Design and economics expert Prof. Dr. Zec is main speaker at Design & Technology Innovation Festival in China

For the first Design & Technology Innovation Festival on October 31 and November 1 2007, Prof. Dr. Peter Zec, Icsid senator and initiator of the red dot design award, travelled to China to hold a talk as design and economics expert.

The festival organised and hosted a student design competition, including its adjudication and awards ceremony. The main part of the event, however, was a lecture series, for which Prof. Dr. Zec was invited as the main speaker. Dr. Zec has been active for over 20 years as a communications and design consultant for numerous companies around the globe.

"Quality is not a thing but an event"  

The focus of Dr. Zec's presentation was on “form and quality”. In pursuit of the right and therewith success-bringing form for a product, Zec described various quality management methods in design. With his thesis "Quality is not a thing but an event" he advocated a focus on the quality of the experience and the use in design. According to Zec, this quality should be the main criterion to be applied for nearly every user when evaluating well-designed products. Aside from the quality of the use, Zec also gave the three qualities “function”, “seduction”, and “responsibility” a defining role for the development and evaluation of good design. For designers as well as for users of products, the four determined qualities, the “4 Q's”, are thus crucial for success.

Organiser Changhong has to fight for its future
The Design & Technology Innovation Festival was organised by the Chinese company Changhong, a former military-cum-civilian company that was once China's leading manufacturer of television sets and household appliances. With a market share of 50% in the TV production sector ten years ago, Changhong is today faced with an entirely new competition. Due to the opening of the Chinese market to other producers, such as the Korean companies Samsung and LG, or Sony, Panasonic, and Hitachi, Changhong's domestic market share has dropped to approximately 10%. The company, today employing some 40,000 workers and with a plant in the Czech Republic, now has to reposition itself and fight for its future.

For many areas of this task Changhong lacks the technical and business management know-how required for keeping up with international competitors. In the television production sector, it then often had no choice but to lower the price. A brand strategy, either for the domestic or the global market, has not been successfully developed or implemented so far. Though it has very high visibility in China, the brand is virtually unknown in the rest of the world. To compound the crisis, Chinese consumers prefer foreign-made TVs and appliances. Provided they can afford it, the Chinese will thus opt for imported television sets, which generally enjoy a better image and recognition.

According to Zec, the case of Changhong demonstrates that Chinese companies also have to contend with globalisation and that even in China, business ventures are not necessarily on the fast track to success. However, such cases are normally excluded from news reports about China's booming economy, thereby contributing to the strongly distorted image of the reality of the country.

Bolstered commitment to design can secure the company's success

In the meantime, however, Changhong's management under the direction of Yong Zhao has recognized that the company's success can only be secured with a bolstered commitment to design. Aside from investments in the development of new technologies, Changhong has thus been working for approximately two years on building a competent and competitive design team. To this end, the company hired renowned US-American industrial designer Gordon Bruce, who has been coaching Changhong designers for two years to expand their knowledge of design. The focus of his approach is on continuity and an understanding for product quality. A seasoned consultant for this field, Bruce has given the Korean company Samsung similar assistance more than 10 years ago, while also being high in demand by other Asian companies in matters concerning quality management development in design. Last but not least, Bruce was also a long-time employee of the Porsche design team.

Increase international competitiveness with the red dot design award

“Design is a driving force for economic growth,” emphasised Zec, who is particularly committed to design promotion. According to Zec, design promotion should always strive to increase the international competitiveness of national products and companies. This could be achieved by providing companies with a more comprehensive knowledge and understanding of design. Another way is to give companies the opportunity to let their products be evaluated by an independent, international jury. “The red dot design award offers the exceptional opportunity to get own performances benchmarked and evaluated against the global competition. The jury of the red dot design award is composed of eminent design leaders from around the world, who, as an international team, can exclude partiality for national, cultural, or social aspects. The red dot jury is therewith a guarantor of objectivity and fairness. A distinction with the red dot stands for exceptional design performance and is easily communicated by means of the red dot label.”